When Things Change
by treehilluver23
Summary: Emma Becker has been in the foster system her whole life. When she goes to live with her twin she never knew existed and her family in Arizona, Emma finds herself in a totally knew world, and slowly falling for a boy she hates. Thayer Rybak seemed to have it all: cars, clothes, girls, and fancy house. But there is a secret hidden behind the walls of his home.
1. Welcome to Phoenix

**Title: **When Things Change

**Fandom: **The Lying Game

**Ship/Character(s): **Thayer/Emma; Ethan/Emma; Sutton/Boys

**Summary: **_See, maybe I'm too quiet for you. You'd probably never noticed me but if you're too big to follow rivers how you ever gonna find the sea?_

* * *

**Chapter One: Welcome to Phoenix**

Emma Becker stared out the window as the black _Sedan _glided down the open road. Nothing lay ahead of them for miles except for open fields of orange dirt and scraggly trees. Although cold air burst through the vents from the air-conditioning, the Arizona heat managed to penetrate the glass. She lived in Texas once but the heat never was this extreme. The driver of the _Sedan _made a right into a residential neighborhood where tall houses mostly made up of glass were lined in a row on either side of the street. Emma had never seen anything like it before. All of the houses were up on a hill, resembling castles straight out of a storybook.

The foster homes she previously lived in looked nothing like these. They were usually run down with various children's toys embedded into the dirt from the missing patches of grass or filled with five other kids that were strictly there so the foster parents could collect a check. This couldn't be the right place. She felt like she'd stepped into the Twilight Zone or some other kind of alternate reality. None of this felt real.

"Here we are, Kiddo," Meredith Smith, Emma's social worker, announced as she pulled the car up one of the immaculate homes' driveway. Meredith shut off the car, and turned to face the girl in the back seat. Her gray eyes scanned Emma's face as she looked up at her _new _home. She knew Emma well enough to know that she was currently having doubts about this newest living placement. She'd been the one to place Emma into those previous foster homes, and every time her heart broke when it didn't work out. Although there were numerous other clients she dealt with, there was something about Emma's story she connected with.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Emma asked, turning her doe brown eyes away from the house to focus them on Meredith.

The older woman chuckled lightly. She nodded. "I'm sure, Emma. This time will be different. You have a sister behind those walls that fought tooth and nail to have you here."

Emma nodded as she reminded herself what Meredith said was the truth. "I'm ready."

She grabbed her beat up purple duffel bag, the same one she'd been carrying around for years, from the trunk and followed Meredith up to the house. Her heart thumped inside her chest like an African drum as Meredith rang the doorbell. Emma was already nervous, and the Arizona heat did nothing to calm her tap-dancing nerves. In fact, it made her a lot more uncomfortable.

When the large door ripped opened, she nearly fainted. Standing on the other side of the threshold, decked out in small white shorts and a pink bikini top, was a mirror image of her.

"You're here!" Sutton Mercer squealed. Before Emma could get over the fact she actually did have a twin, she was being wrapped up in the girl's arms. Emma stood ram-rod straight before something inside her softened. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around Sutton's waist and hugged back. Sutton pulled her further into the house, leaving Meredith to close the door.

Sutton's mouth moved a mile a minute as she squealed through her excitement of having a twin because according to Sutton they could do the whole twin switch thing she's seen on _Sister, Sister_ a dozen times. While she talked, Emma scanned the house: it was huge, like something out a movie or a magazine. Everything looked so pristine and in place. It was a little too _perfect_. Rich mahogany made up just about every piece of furniture in the house and their foyer was bigger than any house she's ever lived in before.

The walls held multiple memories frozen inside expensive frames. There were pictures of Sutton and her parents and sister on boats with the beautiful sea surrounding them and tons of pictures of Sutton and her sister as kids flashing toothless smiles at the camera. Emma forced the sadness away as her brown eyes scanned the photographs. The only pictures she's seen of herself as a child were the ones kept inside her file among the others in the front seat of Meredith's car. But those photos weren't as personal as the ones in the Mercer household. They were simply head shots for potential families to inspect before they decided whether or not they wanted her.

Emma jumped slightly when she felt a hand being placed inside her own. Meredith squeezed her hand sportively. "Don't worry, Kiddo."

"Everyone is waiting outside to meet you," Sutton announced with a toothless grin. She laced their fingers together and pulled Emma through the sliding glass door. "She's here!"

The outside of the house was just as immaculate as the inside. The marbled brick tiles of the patio gleamed brightly underneath the sun like a diamond.

A beautiful blonde woman was the first to approach Emma. Her bright blue eyes shined with warmth. She wore a pleaded skirt white and pale purple blouse, causing her to look a lot younger than Emma assumed she actually was. Her foster moms in the past were nothing like the one standing in front of her. They were usually equipped with a six-pack of beer and the looming smell of Marlboro cigarettes.

"Hi, Emma, it's so nice to meet you," the woman smiled. "I'm Kristen Mercer."

The man who'd been managing the grill when she first walked outside came up to stand behind his wife. He placed a loving hand on the small of her back and smiled down at them. "I'm Ted. It's so nice to meet you."

Emma shook both of their hands with a polite smile. "It's nice to meet you both."

"This sucks," the blonde girl lounging on one of the plush chairs in a navy bikini stated. Her face was hidden behind a pair of over-sized sunglasses. Tossing the newest issue of People Magazine on the ground, the girl stood to join her parents. "I can barely deal with Sutton and now you're bring in her carbon copy. Why do you hate me?"

"Laurel," Kristen scolded. However, Laurel refused to listen. She simply tossed a curtain of hair over her shoulder before disappearing into the house. Kristen smiled apologetically. "Don't mind Laurel, she doesn't mean any harm. She's just-"

"Annoying," Sutton piped in, rolling her big brown eyes, before inspecting her french tip nails. "She is so dramatic for no reason it's sickening."

"Sutton," Ted jumped in. This was not how he wanted Emma's fist couple of minutes in their home to go. Clapping his hands together, Ted decided to deflect the attention toward something else. "How about you show Emma her room while we talk with Ms. Smith."

* * *

"Your social worker said purple was your favorite color," Sutton explained the overflow of purple curtains, duvet, and small room trinkets. She stood in the doorway as Emma migrated into the room, running her hands delicately over the white marbled furniture. "Emma, are you okay?"

"I've, uh, never had my own room before," Emma said, turning to Sutton with glossy eyes.

The other girl smiled sadly, before plastering a huge grin on her face. "Well, you do now."

Emma shook her head softly as if by doing this the sadness will somehow manage to slip out. She plastered on her best smile. "Thank you so much for everything you've done for me."

Sutton waved her off. "No need to thank me. Enough will all of this sadness crap. We're too young and hot to be sad" she proclaimed, plopping down at the end of the huge bed and crossing her dainty legs. "We are going to have so much fun."

Emma wanted to believe this would work out and she'd finally found a home accompanied with a real family. However, she'd been in the foster system long enough to know history always repeated itself. Sooner or later, the Mercer's would find something wrong with her like her previous foster parents and she'd be gone sooner than she arrived.

Kristen called them outside for dinner after a while. She extended an invitation to Meredith to join, but the woman thankfully declined. The Mercer's gave her and Emma a few moments alone to say goodbye, lingering at the end of the foyer. Meredith wrapped the young girl up in her arms and whispered to be good and keep an open mind because she knows this time will work out. A part of Emma doesn't want to believe what Meredith says has the potential to be true because she doesn't want this to be the last time she sees the one consistent thing in her life slip out the door.

Dinner with the Mercer's isn't as awkward as she thought. Ted fills the silence with stories and jokes he thinks are funny, and Kristen is the only one that laughs. Laurel spends most of dinner on her phone, which she thinks is skillfully hidden underneath a cloth napkin. Every once in a while, Sutton would mouth "crazy" after her dad told an incredibly lame joke before turning back to her phone, which she did not hide.

At some point, the conversation turned to the family's recent trip to Paris, in which Laurel finally decided to join in. She and Sutton gushed about the stores where they shopped along with the incredible clothes they brought. Ted explained to her his love of the architecture and how amazing he found it while Kristen drooled over the different pieces of art she purchased for the upstairs hallway. Emma sits listened to their stories, trying her hardest to keep a smile on her face. It felt like the pictures all over again. She didn't belong with these people, who dined in Paris and strutted down the cobble stone streets in expensive clothes. The closest she'd ever been to Paris was the one in Texas.

"What's it like?" Laurel asked. The sun was starting to set, resembling a wildfire. Amidst the pending sunset, Laurel's blonde hair shined like a lost halo.

Emma's brows dipped together. "What was what like?"

"Living in a foster home?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Laurel," Kristen scolded for the second time in one day. "Emma, I am so sorry-"

"It's fine," Emma smiled reassuringly although the jester didn't quite meet her eyes. "It was like being in the army. You go one place for a little while, and then they ship you off somewhere else."

"At least you go to travel and see some really cool places." Laurel sounded almost jealous. Emma almost laughed because if she knew the truth, she'd never be able to survive. She'd be begging to go back home to her privileged life with in minutes.

"I guess," Emma shrugged. "You learn not to get too attached to people, though."


	2. O, Brave New World

**A/N: **_Hi, everyone! Thank you so much to the six people that reviewed this and even to the ones that just read. I appreciate the kind words. So, how freaking awesome was that Themma kiss on Tuesday? Pretty damn awesome if you ask me._**  
**

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**Chapter Two: O, Brave New World**

Emma moaned as the smell of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and fresh brewed coffee interrupted her slumber. The Egyptian cotton sheets felt like heaven and the mattress molded around her person like a comforting hug. She didn't want to get out of bed, but the delicious scent of a home cooked meal sung to her like a siren from Greek Mythology. For the first time in her life, she didn't wake up to dishes shattered against the rundown floor, loud curse words, or multiple children crying for food. There was only peaceful silence and the possibility of a fresh start.

A part of Emma did miss Vegas, where she lived before, because of her old foster sister Lexie. Over the years, Emma taught herself not to get too attached to things. However, there was something about Lexie that allowed her to break that rule. She missed the girl like crazy. But she respected Lexie too much to contact her. It would be like a slap in the face to tell her all about the Mercer's expensive home while Lexie is in Vegas stuck living with Travis and Maureen until her eighteenth birthday next month. Emma shivered at the thought of her old foster brother. She closed her eyes tight against their lids in order to force the bad memories from her mind. She couldn't allow thoughts of Travis to haunt her anymore.

Her chocolate eyes squinted against the blazing rays of sun slipping through the slit curtains when someone knocked on the door. She sat up in bed, resting her back against the headboard and invited the person in.

"Emma," Sutton sing-songed as she flounced into the room. She was already dressed and ready for school in pair of expensive diamond encrusted skinny jeans and peter pan collared shirt. Her mahogany locks were curled to perfection. Emma couldn't help but notice Sutton looked like an expensive version of her. Sutton bounced on the bed, ripping the covers from her twins body. "Rise and shine. It's a beautiful morning!"

The other girl laughed, swatting the air in hopes of contacting with Sutton. She pulled the cover over her head. "Five more minutes."

Sutton giggled, pulling the covers down. She flopped down on the bed, diving underneath the covers. "We have to find you an ah-ma-zing first day of school outfit."

Emma tucked the covers over their head. "I'm scared."

Sutton snuggled close to Emma. She smiled at her twin, before swiping a fallen piece of hair from her face. "Don't be. I will be there right with you." She ripped the covers from their head and hopped out of the bed, pulling Emma along.

"Whoa!" Emma exclaimed when she entered Sutton's room across the hall. Sutton went straight for the closet, opening up its wide double doors, as Emma looked around the room. If she thought her room was immaculate then she'd been seriously mistaken. Sutton's room looked like something fit for a queen. There were pictures everywhere of Sutton with friends, boys, her parents, and Laurel. In each picture she looked as though she were having the time of her life. When Emma focused her attention to the closet, she nearly passed out. Sutton's closet was huge, filled with all types of expensive dresses, jeans, sweaters, shirts, shoes, bags, and jewelry.

"It's like you have a store in your room," Emma commented dreamily. She'd never been big on material things, mostly because she never had any. The last time she got a new pair of shoes were for her fourteenth birthday, and they weren't exactly new. Her foster mother at the time gave them to her after finding them near a dumpster.

"I know, right?" Sutton smiled. She dug walked into the closet and began fiddling through the shirts. She squealed when she found one, and turned to Emma, holding it up to her chest. "Purple! We look so good in purple."

Emma couldn't help but smile. Lexie was the closest thing she had to a sister, and even then it wasn't the same. The two of them ended up agreeing on a simple pair of black skinny jeans, purple ruffled blouse, and simple black flats. Sutton straightened her hair and tied it up into a fancy ponytail. Emma stood next to her twin in the mirror. She looked completely different from the girl that walked into the Mercer household the day before. She actually looked like she belonged next to her stylish twin.

"Good morning, Emma," Kristen smiled brightly, placing a fully-loaded plate of food onto the table.

"Good morning," Emma replied with a tentative smile.

"Good morning to you, too, mom," Sutton mumbled, taking her usual seat. Her button-nose wrinkled at the greasy breakfast placed in front of her. "Ew, mom, you know I don't eat this stuff."

"Oh, sorry, sweetie, that's Emma's plate." Kristen moved the plate in front of Emma, who took the seat next to Sutton.

"But this is my seat," Sutton reminded her evenly. "You know I always sit here."

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I must have forgotten," the older woman apologized as she switched the plates.

"Good morning, everyone," Ted said while fixing his tie. He kissed his wife's lips before kissing his daughters on the forehead before he took his seat at the head of the table. "How are you this morning, Emma? Did you sleep okay? Was it too hot or too cold?"

"It was fine," Emma reassured him with a head nod.

"I slept like a baby,_ thank you for asking,"_ Sutton interjected sarcastically.

The family settled into their usual chatter, but Emma didn't pay too much attention to it. She breathed in the scent of the food, her mouth watering at the possibility of the delicious flavors hitting her taste-buds. She poured syrup onto the pancakes after lathering them with butter. Kristen's pancakes were better than anything she'd ever tasted. They were fluffy and golden like soft pillows. They weren't freezer-burned like the ones she was used to. Emma scarfed down the pancakes, shoving both the pancakes and bacon into her mouth.

"Slow down, Emma." Sutton's laughter brought Emma from her pancake-haze. She covered her full mouth, embarrassed at her actions.

"I'm glad to see someone is enjoying my pancakes," Kristen smiled. Emma chewed slowly before washing it down with orange juice.

* * *

Emma breathed in and out slowly from the backseat of Sutton's convertible BMW. Laurel sat in the front seat fixing her hair and making sure her makeup was in good condition. Emma's been to plenty of high schools before, but this time seemed different. She ducked down a little lower in her seat when Sutton pulled the car into the school's parking lot in between a Audi and a Mercedes. Most of the high school's Emma went to were nothing like this one. The parking lot was mostly filled with beat-up old cars where as here all she saw were expensive ones. Even the lesser cars looked as if they were brand new.

"I'll find a ride home," Laurel threw over her shoulder as she went to join her group of waiting friends in the parking lot.

Emma followed Sutton through the parking lot. She kept her head down, trying her best to ignore the eyes following her. She clutched the satchel Sutton let her borrow tightly against her palm for comfort. At the end of the parking lot stood a group of four people: a beautiful blonde girl, an exotic looking brunette, and two really handsome boys. The blonde girl's eyes widened when she and Sutton got closer. The others just looked in slight disbelief.

"O-MY-GOD!" the blonde squealed with excitement. She bounced happily in her expensive caged-platform heels.

"I told you she was real," Sutton announced smugly. Emma smiled softly at the group of people, who stared at her as if she were something straight out of the circus.

"Everything about you two is the same: the hair, the eyes," the blonde circled around them before coming to a stop. "Hi, I'm Char!"

"Emma." She shook the enthusiastic girl's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Mads," the pretty exotic looking brunette introduced. She pointed to the boy beside her. "This is Jordan."

"Ethan," the other guy introduced. He was cute, with broad shoulders and a smoldering smile that made her heart flutter a little.

The new-nest of the twins wore off once Char launched into news of a back to school party at some girl named Neisha's house. Char, Mads, and Sutton settled into a discussion of what they were going to where, while the boys discussed bringing a keg. Emma stood on the outside watching them, not knowing exactly what to say. She didn't really have friends at her other high schools. Mostly because it always ended up the same. Just as she made friends, it was time for her to leave again. Although she looked the part, Emma knew deep down she would never fit in with these people. They came from a place of privilege and prestige. She was just some foster kid that didn't know the difference between Armani and Gucci. She only knew about hand-me-downs and Wall-Mart clothes.

"There he is," Mads sighed in relief when a black drop-top _Mercedes_ glided into the parking lot. The driver, a lean guy with dark hair and shades, stepped out. He wore a pair of black jeans and matching button-down shirt. "What took you so long?"

The guy scoffed at her tone. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Mads, I made it before the bell."

"You didn't come home last night, again," she argued sadly.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," the guy reassured her with a smile. He slipped the shades to the crown of his head, eyes landing on Emma, then Sutton, before turning them back to Emma. "I didn't get that drunk last night. Why am I seeing double?"

Sutton rolled her big brown eyes. "Shut up, Thayer, you know I have a twin now. This is Emma. Emma, say hello."

"Hi, I'm Emma," the girl introduced.

Thayer's eyes scanned her up and down. "I got that. You speak on command?" He turned to Sutton and smiled slyly. "I guess you finally got that puppy you always wanted."

"Excuse me?" Emma couldn't believe her ears, and apparently neither could the other people around them. They all looked shocked.

"Thayer," Mads scolded punching him in the chest.

"You don't even know me," Emma barked as she took a step forward. Who in the hell did this guy think he was? If there was one thing she learned by being in the foster system, it's not to take crap from rich assholes like the one standing in front of her.

"Puppy is a little feisty," he taunted. He matched her stance, placing himself directly in front of her. He dipped down so their eyes were connected. "Heal, Emma," he commanded, before sliding his shades back over his eyes and walking away.

Mads and Jordan followed after him. Char tried not to laugh at Thayer's words as she looked at Emma and walked away. Ethan smiled apologetically before going in the other direction.

"Don't worry about Thayer," Sutton said after a few minutes of silence. She placed a hand on Emma's shoulder and smiled. "He's got issues. Come on, I'll show you to your next class."

Emma nodded as she followed Sutton toward the main building of the school. She wanted to not "worry about Thayer" but she couldn't. His words penetrated her brain and dug itself a nice little nest where she could remember them for all time. As she and Sutton walked side-by-side with their matching face and hair, Emma knew that although they looked exactly alike she'd never be on Sutton's level. She wasn't Sutton, she was simply a cheaper version that no one wanted. How else do you explain Sutton ending up in a nice home with parents that loved her, while she was forced to fend for herself in the foster system? Thayer was right, she could wear Sutton's clothes, live in her house, and eat dinner with her family, but she would never be anything else. She'd always be the side show with the caption: Step right up, and see the twin of Sutton Mercer.


End file.
